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Hi,A fake book is a collection of songs organized by chord symbols and melody lines. Jazz guys and society band musicians used to be the only people using them but, they are widely used by all kinds of musicians today. The most famous of all the fake books is "The Real Book"-the title being a joke on the whole concept of fake books. The Real Book is mostly a collection of jazz songs by composers such as Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis, Keith Jarrett, Pat Metheny and other musicians popular during the 60's and 70's eras. You can get a lot of fake books through Hal Leonard Publishing now I believe since the fake books are sold over the counter now. When I got my first one it was not legal to sell fake books and I bought it from the owner of the music store where I taught lessons during high school. It had 3000 songs in it, three per page, and I paid 60 dollars for it.

On the subject of fake books, I would like to recommend the "New Real Book Series" from Sher Publishing (www.shermusic.com)...widely available. These are a huge improvement over the old original Real Book, not just because they are legal now...they're easier to read, they are well-edited, four thick volumes are available covering a huge range of music, they usually include the 'verse' to older standards (as opposed to just the 'refrain'), and lyrics are provided. And (very cool) they are also published in B-flat and E-flat for the convenience of all your sax- and trumpet-playing friends. Really well done.